The market for special bar quality metal rebounded last year after underperforming the previous two years. Strong end markets and favorable market conditions carried those gains into 2018, and producers and distributors of SBQ products don’t see the bar lowering anytime soon.

Each year, Jacobson & Associates surveys more than 2,000 major steel customers in the United States and Canada, including service centers and end users, to measure their satisfaction with their mill suppliers.

By implementing and improving upon the company’s plan for profitable service center operations, retiring Reliance Steel & Aluminum Co. President and CEO Gregg Mollins has helped his company become the model for the metals distribution business.

Noted pipe and tube analyst from Preston Pipe & Tube Report predicted the energy business will enjoy small growth in 2019, one of a handful of notable predictions made during CRU’s North American Steel 2018 Conference in Chicago last month.